Oh emotions … they tend to drive many of life’s major milestones, including marriage, parenthood, and even home buying. Although many factors affect a homebuyer’s decision-making process (location, unique features and budget), many homebuyers simply fall in love with a home at first sight.
Tap into your inner Cupid with marketing tactics that are sure to make homebuyers fall in love over and over again. Here’s how to make a homebuyer’s heart skip a beat.
1. Make it love at first sight
According to the 2012 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 98 percent of buyers claim photographs as the most useful feature on a real estate website. If you think about it, a listing on the MLS is no different than a Match.com profile. Sure a listing may have a well-written description, but it’s the photographs that make the first impression.
Since the majority of homebuyers start their search online, it’s crucial to capture their attention right away with high-quality real estate photography. That means no poor lighting, grainy quality, inaccurate dulled hues, or walls that appear bowed (and absolutely no selfies!).
When in doubt, hire a professional real estate photographer. It’s the most cost-effective investment you’ll make.
2. Hit them with your best shots
Imagine you’re on a date or an interview. The conversation starter is usually, “Tell me about yourself.” Most likely you’ll respond by highlighting the best qualities about you (without coming off too confident, of course). We all have flaws, but there is no need to shine light on them too soon.
The same goes with real estate marketing. Posting an image of a half-gutted basement bathroom as your first photo stream image may not be the best tactic.
Make your story impactful from the very beginning by better understanding the property’s best assets. Your best source to turn to is often the people who live there. Ask the seller:
- What made you fall in love with the home?
- How does the home make you feel?
- Where do you spend most of your time?
- What rooms do your guests comment on the most?
- What is your favorite room and why?
Once you receive some feedback from the homeowners, you have the ability to communicate with your real estate photographer where the most enticing features of the property are, then use those shots in your listing’s photo gallery.
3. Keep the flame alive!
After you’ve made a great first impression and shown the property’s best attributes, continue to keep the love alive.
The purchasing cycle has changed; it’s important to establish relationships early on, so you pull buyers out of the market sooner and start a great conversation early on in the buying cycle.
Playing Cupid is only half the battle. Go upstream further than your competition by continuing to improve client relationships throughout the entire buying process.
Just like falling in love, homebuyers stumble on the home of their dreams when they aren’t even looking. Be ready! Call VHT Studios at 1-800-790-8687 or visit VHTStudios.com to schedule a photography session today!